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"A Time To Reflect, Console And Learn"

After one of the most tragic and violent events in U.S. history, the Tufts community begins to pick up the pieces.

Medford/Somerville, Mass. [09.12.01] "We are a strong nation and Tufts is a strong community," Tufts President Lawrence S. Bacow told students, faculty and staff at an afternoon memorial service. "It is our job to ensure that something positive comes out of this unspeakable tragedy."

As the sun began to set over Tufts' campuses -- signaling the end of one of the most violent and shocking days in American history -- hundreds of students, faculty and staff gathered for a memorial service in front of Ballou Hall on the Medford/Somerville campus.

Just hours before, four hijacked airplanes wreaked terror across the U.S., eventually destroying a large section of the Pentagon and leveling New York's World Trade Center towers amid a towering cloud of smoke, dust and debris.

Across Tufts' campuses, the devastating events hit home hard.

Posters for blood drives covered doors, walls and campus landmarks, flowers and signs of support for the victims were left at the entrance to the Tisch library and American flags were hung from fraternity and sorority houses.

Flags on the Tufts campuses were lowered to half-mast.

"Now is the time we must reach out to each other," Bacow told the crowd at Tuesday's memorial service. "No one can be left behind."

That process has already begun.

John Harrington, M.D. the dean of Tufts' School of Medicine, issued an email to the Boston Health Sciences campus, encouraging students, faculty and staff to give blood at locations across the city. He also asked the community to participate in a blood drive at Tufts -- which had already been scheduled for next week.

And some students have been called down to New York to help. Student and volunteer fireman Lauren Ruffino -- the goalie for Tufts' field hockey team -- is already on her way down to New York to help the city's rescue teams.